story of christmas1

story of christmas1

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

A mean old man named Ebenezer Scrooge sits in his office on a freezing Christmas Eve. His clerk, Bob Cratchit, shivers in the next room because Scrooge refuses to spend money on heating. 

Scrooge's nephew, Fred, pays his uncle a visit and invites him to his annual Christmas party. Two gentlemen also drop by and ask Scrooge for a contribution to their charity. Scrooge reacts to the holiday visitors with bitterness and venom, spitting out an angry "Bah! Humbug!" in response to his nephew's "Merry Christmas!" 

Later that evening, after returning to his dark, cold apartment, Scrooge receives a chilling visitation from the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley relates his unfortunate story. As punishment for his greedy  life his spirit has been condemned to wander the Earth loaded with heavy chains. Marley hopes to save Scrooge from sharing the same fate. Marley informs Scrooge that three spirits will visit him during each of the next three nights. 

After the ghost disappears, Scrooge collapses into a deep sleep. He wakes moments before the arrival of the Ghost of Christmas Past, a strange childlike phantom with a brightly glowing head. The spirit takes Scrooge on a journey into the past to previous Christmases from his earlier years. Invisible to those he watches, Scrooge revisits his childhood school days, his apprenticeship with a jolly merchant named Fezziwig, and his engagement to Belle, a woman who leaves Scrooge because his lust for money eclipses his ability to love another. Scrooge, deeply moved, sheds tears of regret before the phantom returns him to his bed. 

The Ghost of Christmas Present, a majestic giant wearing a  green fur robe, takes Scrooge through London to unveil Christmas as it will happen that year. Scrooge watches the large Cratchit family prepare a miniature feast in its poor  home. He discovers Bob Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, a courageous boy whose kindness and humility warms Scrooge's heart. The specter then takes Scrooge to his nephew's to witness the Christmas party. Scrooge finds the happy gathering delightful and asks the spirit to stay until the very end of the festivities. 

 As the day passes, the spirit ages, becoming much older. Toward the end of the day, he shows Scrooge two starved children, Ignorance and Want, living under his coat. 

He vanishes instantly as Scrooge notices a dark, hooded figure coming toward him. The Ghost of Christmas Future leads Scrooge through a sequence of mysterious scenes relating to an unnamed man's recent death. Scrooge sees businessmen discussing the dead man's riches, some vagabonds trading his personal effects for cash, and a poor couple expressing relief at the death of their creditor. Scrooge, anxious to learn the lesson of his latest visitor, begs to know the name of the dead man. After asking the ghost, Scrooge finds himself in a cemetery, the spirit pointing to a grave. Scrooge looks at the headstone and is shocked to read his own name. He desperately implores the spirit to alter his fate, promising to renounce his insensitive, avaricious ways and to honor Christmas with all his heart. 

Whoosh! He suddenly finds himself safely tucked in his bed. Scrooge is really happy to have the chance to redeem himself and grateful that he has been returned to Christmas Day. He runs onto the street hoping to share his new Christmas spirit. He sends a giant Christmas turkey to the Cratchit house and attends Fred's party, to the surprise of the other guests. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart: he treats Tiny Tim as if he were his own child, provides gifts for the poor, and treats his fellow human beings with kindness, generosity, and warmth.